More than 700 people gathered in the RDS, Dublin on Saturday 24 June to celebrate fifty years of Charismatic Renewal in Ireland. Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, celebrated Mass for participants and announced a new prayer apostolate for Ireland, www.myprayer.ie. The national gathering welcomed people from across Ireland for a day of prayer and worship along with various testimonials and an address by keynote speaker Father Pat Collins CM.
In his homily, Archbishop Eamon Martin said, “The Lord is inviting us to sing like never before His Good News into the world! Despite everything out there that tries to stifle the Joy of the Gospel, we must never tire of bringing into the world the consoling, uplifting, ever new and ever precious news that Jesus our Lord and Saviour is Risen; his spirit lives and moves among us and wants to renew the face of the earth! Do not allow yourselves to be robbed of hope, Pope Francis keeps telling us. Praise Father God! Praise Jesus. Praise the Holy Spirit!”
He continued, “My dear brothers and sisters in the Charismatic Movement, congratulations on your golden jubilee – fifty years of declaring yourselves for Jesus, fifty years of prayer, praise and witness. On behalf of the Church in Ireland I want to thank you for your quiet presence among us (well, not always so quiet!). Thank you for being open to new life in the Spirit, for allowing God to work in you and through you to keep the message of love and hope alive in this country. Thank you for continuing to sing the new song! Thank you for channelling the gifts and charisms the Spirit has showered on you and for using them in the service of the Church. We have seen over the past fifty years the fruits of your prayer and service all around this country.”
“I am convinced that the Spirit is actively at work in Ireland today preparing us for a new springtime of growth and abundance in faith. Please pray that we will be open to the gifts which the Spirit is giving to our Church at this time, by calling and gifting women and men for the service of the Gospel in this time and in this place. Pray for vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life. But pray also that our lay faithful will realise more and more that they are called in baptism.”
Archbishop Martin concluded, “That is why today, to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Ireland I am announcing an apostolate of prayer for Ireland, praying for a new Pentecost in Ireland, calling on the Holy Spirit to pour out on all of us – priests, religious and lay faithful – the gifts and charisms that are needed for the renewal of the Church in Ireland at this time.”
Earlier, in Rome international celebrations for the golden jubilee of Charismatic Renewal took place over five days from 31 May to 4 June. On 3 June, the eve of Pentecost Sunday, Pope Francis addressed more than 50,000 members Charismatic Renewal movement during an ecumenical prayer vigil inside Rome’s Circus Maximus. Is his address, Pope Francis described the Charismatic Renewal movement as a ‘current of grace of the Spirit’, saying, “This current of grace is for all the Church, not just for some, and no-one among us is the “master” and all the others servants. No. We are all servants of this current of grace.”
For more information on the new apostolate of prayer for Ireland, visit www.myprayer.ie.
Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a spiritual movement which places an emphasis on having a personal relationship with Jesus and expressing the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Catholic Charismatic renewal movement exists in over 230 countries around the world, with more than 160 million members. For more information on Charismatic Renewal in Ireland see www.ccrireland.org.
ENDS
